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Abstract

William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" creates a dream world fused with reality. Shakespeare successfully makes the world of Puck and other sprites realistic by employing powerful, vivid text in the play. The paper explains that through his creative use of language, Shakespeare creates a world of illusion where things are not what they seem and imagination pushes the limits of fact. The result of powerful language aided by our own imagination allows this enchanted world to appear real in the moonlit forest. It examines how the text of the play is constructed in such a way that we not only visualize the setting of the play, but we also come to know each character. 

From the Paper:

"The interplay between Puck, Lysander, and Demetrius demonstrates the contrast between mortals and fairies. Puck successfully misguides the two men until they become confused and lose their sense of direction. Puck has an added measure of fun when he tells Demetrius to follow his voice. While Lysander tries to follow that voice, he describes Pucks' nature almost perfectly. He states that the villain is "much lighter-heeled" Shakespeare (III.ii.416) than he is and though he followed the voice fast, "faster he did fly" (III.ii.417). Similarly, Demetrius encounters the same type of confusion with Puck."